Valerie Holgers, the founder and director of Academie de Ballet Classique, is perfectly candid about why the Bend school opts to do an original production each year rather than a recital. This year’s show is “Mary Poppins,” in performance at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at the Tower Theatre in Bend.

“I’ve never liked (recitals),” Holgers said. “You know, a group comes on, they dance, ‘Yeah yeah, I got it.’ Then, the next one goes on. No one wants to see anybody else’s child but their own. This way, we have a show where the children are integrated throughout the show, with all different kinds and levels of students.”

Celebrating its 10th year in Bend, Academie de Ballet Classique (ABC) has previously staged productions of “Peter Pan,” “Snow White,” “Peter and the Wolf” and “Alice in Wonderland,” to name a few. Rather than stage the classic iterations of these productions, they opt to create original shows.

“It’s collaborative — this is not a one-pony show,” Holgers said. Each of the school’s five teachers help with the choreography. Some 114 of its 150 students will perform in the show, made up mostly of youth performers. Dancers range in age from 2½ to 35.

Based on author P.L. Travers’ classic “Mary Poppins,” the tale of the magical nanny is set in 1910 London, where the student performers dance “in front of bright home fires, skip through sunny parks and leap from one gritty rooftop to another,” according to Holgers. Not consigned to just ballet, the show includes lyrical dancing, which features elements of contemporary, jazz and ballet.

Holgers said it takes two years to become a registered teacher with the Royal Academy of Dance, and that of the five in Oregon, she’s the only one working east of the Cascades.

“I’m part of an elite club that I dearly love,” she said. “I am required to do continuing ed every year. If I’m going to keep my registration active, and be able to do what I do, I have to go do these courses.”

Students from ABC have gone on to join institutions such as Colorado Ballet in Denver, 
Colorado; Dance Theatre of Harlem, in New York; Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The school’s annual show serves as a benefit for its 
scholarship program, given to students based on financial, physical or emotional challenges.

“We make every effort to include all students in our show,” Holgers said. “We accept students of all abilities. Students have had muscular dystrophy, brain injuries and birth defects. We’ve had blind students (and) deaf students dancing. We do our best to integrate them into our regular program. We might adjust what they do a little bit to accommodate them. Our little blind one, we had to be sure that she knew how many steps forward she could go so she wouldn’t go off the edge of the stage. But she went on by herself. There was no one else but her. (She) brought the house to their feet — and not a dry eye.”

“We accept students of all abilities. Students have had muscular dystrophy, brain injuries and birth defects. We’ve had blind students (and) deaf students dancing. We do our best to integrate them into our regular program.”Valerie Holgers, the founder and director of Academie de Ballet Classique

What: “Mary Poppins,” an original Academie de Ballet Classique ballet

When: 6:30 p.m. Saturday, 
1 p.m. Sunday

Where: Tower Theatre, 835 NW Wall St., Bend

Cost: $16, $10 students, plus fees, free for kids 6 and under, at towertheatre.org or 541-317-0700

Contact: abcbend.com or 541-382-4055